Hilltop School upgrades to cost millions: Mayor Hilliard said reusing building remains top priority

Wednesday

Mar 19, 2014 at 3:15 AM

By Casey Conleycconley@fosters.com

SOMERSWORTH — Converting the vacant Hilltop School into an arts-focused community center could cost up to $4.4 million, a consultant told city councilors Monday.

Art Guadano of AG Architects in Dover said the 87-year-old building needs substantial upgrades to meet building codes and other regulations. He estimated the work would cost between $3.2 million and $4.4 million. Noncritical but recommended upgrades such as new windows, a new roof and phone and Internet hookups would drive that cost higher.

“We’re showing it as a range because we don’t know all the details yet,” he said during Monday’s presentation.

City residents have been working to reopen the Hilltop School since around the time closed in 2010. The group Friends of Somersworth has led efforts to convert the three-story building into an arts and cultural center since 2012. Mayor Dana Hilliard said reopening the school remains his top priority.

The Friends group envisions a first-floor ceramics studio and artist studios on the second floor. The third floor could be set aside for a charter school or other large nonprofit tenant that could take advantage of cultural offerings within the building.

Emmett Soldati, chairman of the Friends group, said the consultant’s report provides a good starting point for the project.

“I think we learned a lot in this process in terms of how much this building needed,” Soldati said, adding that might have underestimated how much work is required.

“Although it’s a tough pill to swallow for a lot of people, I think it’s actually a very promising number,” he said of the cost estimate.

The city hired Guadano last year to determine what renovations were needed to carry out the Friends’ vision and meet applicable codes. He also was asked to determine the cost of these improvements.

Although the building is structurally sound, it needs scores of interior upgrades to meet federal Americans with Disabilities Act rules and building codes. Other amenities are necessary for the building to function as a cultural center.

His report calls for new stairwells, better exits, an elevator and new bathrooms. The building also needs more than $1.1 million in heating, electrical and plumbing costs among other work.

One key reason for the expense: When buildings often must be updated to modern standards whenever the type of use changes. In this case, the former school would transition from an education to business use.

“The code has all sorts of requirements for existing buildings, and one of the issues is when you’re changing the use there is a likelihood that certain things have to be brought up to code,” Guadano said.

Dave Sharples, the city’s director of planning and community development, said the cost estimate was about what he expected given code requirements and other necessary upgrades.

“There is no mechanical system, there is no plumbing to speak of, electric needs to be upgraded,” he said. “All of those things I figured were coming.”

However, it seemed to catch some council members by surprise.

“I didn’t think it was going to be quite that expensive, but I understand,” Ward 3 Councilor Marcel Hebert said Tuesday. “I think we are going to wait on this because we have the downtown (construction project) going right now.”

Indeed, the city borrowed more than $5 million for downtown utility upgrades, paving and streetscape improvements that will resume next month and continue into the fall.

With the report now finished, city officials and the Friends group must determine how to move forward. The council has not committed money to the Hilltop project.

Hilliard said there is plenty of energy to support the project. But reopening the school likely will require partnerships between the city, the private sector and the federal government.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.